C.pygmaeus -- Egg Eaters?

[mikev]

Does anyone know if they eat their own eggs?

(I have seen a mysterious disappearance of eggs in a single-species tank... the only two suspects are the cories themselves and the ramshorns.)

Thanks.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi mikev

While we sometimes generalize that some corys tend to be egg eaters while others are not, I don't think you can ever rule the possibility out. But then too, snails will eat whatever they can.

 

[mikev]

Hi Inchworm,

Thanks...Yeah... Snails were not a problem for me in other cory tanks, but I think I'll have to wipe out the snails anyway and see what happens. At least they are finally breeding... A strip search revealed an extra semi-adult in the tank ( ) and I saved a few eggs,

 

[Harlequins]

My pygmies never appear to eat the eggs,although i realised they did eat the wee fry,so ended up separating them

Good luck with your new fry

 

[mikev]

Thanks. Unfortunately, will not see that fry for a while, if ever.... I dumped them into java moss,... previous cories tend to reappear only after a couple of weeks...

Yes, I would not be surprised if the adults eat the fry too... I collected thirty eggs just now (Wow -- they are prolific), most eyed up, someone should be responsible for the absence of the fry in the tank.

 

[mikev]

Well, some bad news: it seems that the fry eats fry. The oldest fry grew rapidly and look like little cories already, but putting newborns (only 10 days younger) with them was a mistake.
It seems like every spawn would need a separate container.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi mikev

I never seem to see this mentioned but I've had the same problem. I'm not sure if the older fry attack and eat the newly hatched ones, if they are just too active around them, or if it's something to do with the hormones in the water. I've noticed it with my C. pandas which give me small but frequent spawns. Ten days to two weeks and I have to add another tank. Then, after they get a little bigger, they can all (within reason) go together in a 10 gallon again.

It seems like every spawn would need a separate container.

Didn't you tell me you live in Nassau? If so, you can get some of the old NCAS 2 1/2 gallon show tanks for just $2 each. I picked a few up and must say the do come in handy for this kind of situation. If you are interested and need information, just send me a PM.

 

[mikev]

This is what I do with other fish... raise separately, if more than two weeks apart. This species seems to be so fast growing initially that even ten days is not safe, so it is really a tank per spawn.

Not sure what I'm going to do yet. I have another egg collection (they are prolific all of a sudden), the fry will go into a rainbow fry 5g... they are lucky that I just started it. I did this before with loose Panda fry, worked just fine, should work with C.pygmaeus as long as rainbows are newborns too (cory fry is tiny initially).... we'll see shortly.

But what happens with future spawns I have no idea now.

Thank you for the tanks offer.... No need right now, I have spare 2.5g's, my problem is the total lack of space to set them up (more than 70 tanks running already, and I managed to use all the available shelves ).

(I'm in Queens, not Nassau, but still close enough.)

Hi mikev

I never seem to see this mentioned but I've had the same problem. I'm not sure if the older fry attack and eat the newly hatched ones, if they are just too active around them, or if it's something to do with the hormones in the water. I've noticed it with my C. pandas which give me small but frequent spawns. Ten days to two weeks and I have to add another tank. Then, after they get a little bigger, they can all (within reason) go together in a 10 gallon again.

It seems like every spawn would need a separate container.

Didn't you tell me you live in Nassau? If so, you can get some of the old NCAS 2 1/2 gallon show tanks for just $2 each. I picked a few up and must say the do come in handy for this kind of situation. If you are interested and need information, just send me a PM.

 

[mikev]

This is at about 2.5weeks. Not a good shot, sorry, they are allergic to photoing, but it amazing that it already looks like an adult... and it is perhaps 40% of the adult size. I think I have four of them... hard to see under the moss.

Now, if I could only figure out where to put maybe fifty eggs I just collected

 

[Inchworm]

Hi mikev

It is a good picture! I wish mine would turn out anywhere near as well.

I'll bet this is one fish that you will be able to sell as many as you can raise. I rarely see them in the lfs around here. I've been told they have to order such a large number that they didn't think they could sell them all. They would be happy to have home grown ones.

At last the temperature is cooling off nicely. My fish usually respond to the change this time of year and show their joy by spawning. I've just got panda and weitzmani eggs this morning and I've also had a recent spawn by some fish I haven't identified yet. They gave me lots of small eggs (in a community tank no less)but I didn't see them until they had hardened up a bit. I saved a bunch but not as many as I might have if I was expecting them. They are now moved to a 10 gallon by themselves.

It's going to be a good year for corys.

 

[mikev]

You sure are correct about the effect of cooling down... here there were at least four spawns from the pygmys here and one from habrosus (one year since the last time!)...

You may be also correct about hormones. I think I saw five large, about 1cm, pygmy babies in the tank D) but also one of the younger fries that survived but remains tiny... either a natural runt or hormones of older fry damaged it.

.....

nay, I'm not interested in supplying stores, at most some friends.... I would like to have a decent size shoal myself, maybe two dozens will be less skittish than the ten I have now.

 

[mikev]

I'll bet this is one fish that you will be able to sell as many as you can raise. I rarely see them in the lfs around here.

If you are interested in them, Fishtown (on the Nassau border) had a bunch of juveniles yesterday, healthy looking, I _think_ 6 for $5.
I did not get any, have a feeling I'll have a lot of my own before long... but a friend took a dozen.

 

[Baccus]

Just thought I would add an interesting note, my peppereds do't generally eat their own eggs but will wolf down any strebia eggs they come across. So now any eggs I get all get rescued into a suspended net in the adults tank and all the babies happily grow up together no matter their breed. Although I suspect it makes the strebias a little confused on what breed they actually are. Once the babies are like minature adults I let them loose with the parents and they mix in great not getting bullied or eaten. But then it is a large tank with plenty of live plants and rocky and timber hidey holes.The biggest problem egg and baby wise is the snails that enjoy having a munch and then once the babies have all grown up finding enough homes for them.